The Northern Forest programme will support the establishment of over 50 million trees from Liverpool to Hull.  This will provide multiple benefits  including:

• An estimate 7.5 millions tonnes of CO2e sequestered over 25 years;
• reducing the risk of flooding;
• making people across the north happier and healthier.

The Northern Forest is a partnership between the Woodland Trust, the Community Forest Trust and the local Community Forests – Mersey Forest, Manchester City of Trees, White Rose Forest & Humber Forest.

The Great North Bog coalition aims to restore all of the remaining degraded blanket bog in the north of England.

It will provide a series of benefit including:

• Keep in the ground 400 million tonnes of stored carbon;
• Avoid emissions of  4.4 million t/CO2e/yr from degraded peat;
• Reduces flood risk and improves water quality.

The programme brings together 6 existing peatland restoration partnerships.

Our coasts and estuaries have long been associated with livelihoods and economic activity.  They are also key habitats for wildlife. However much of our coastal areas are economically and ecological degraded.

This concept looks to support nature recovery to drive livelihood creation and environmental benefits to reinvigorate these communities.

Extensive road, rail and energy network developments are planned. At the same time Nature Recovery Networks are being defined in response to the Environment Bill.  This concept aims to connect up the Nature Recovery networks across the North and link them in to Transport and Energy Infrastructure plans so that they can complement each other.

This will enhanced climate resilience of these networks and mitigate negative impacts. By seeking to achieve biodiversity and environmental net gain this will enhance nature and ecosystem service provision.

This investable concept aims to support strategic improvement and enhancement of nature in our cities and towns to address three challenges:

i) Inequalities in access to green space and linked impacts to health and productivity;
ii) Changes in retail sector and working practices;
iii) Effects of climate change.

Economic return in investment in nature based solutions within river catchments is well understood. These include

• Flooding: Avoided cost and disruption;
• Water processing costs;
• Resilient agri-food supply chain.

Business and government agencies are looking to identify shared interest in natural assets. This concept will supports upscaling existing activities around funding and implementing a catchment based approach across the North.

Our lowlands are characterised by highly intensive agriculture and low woodland cover. Historically the drive for intensification and the influence of  agricultural policy have resulted in a system with higher flood risk and reduced soil quality.

Future exposure to global markets and other demands for land may mean farmers are driven to further improve efficiency or productivity. It is key farmers are supported to do this in a sustainable way.

The concept aims to enhance nature to support sustainable, productive and nature friendly farming.